When Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff sent a direct message to Ariel Kelman on Twitter in the first week of April, he had been absent from the company for more than ten years. When the marketing executive left Salesforce and took on top positions at Amazon Web Services and Oracle, Benioff wanted to know if she was prepared to return.
At Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference last week in San Francisco, Kelman remarked, “I just thought it was wonderful timing.” Prior to rejoining Salesforce as chief marketing officer in June, Kelman spent the few months before managing marketing at a startup called Fireblocks.
He declared, “I had a terrific time working at this company.
Also returning in June with the position of chief revenue officer was Miguel Milano, who for more than ten years oversaw sales in significant international markets for Salesforce. Brian Millham, the executive in charge of operations at Salesforce, persuaded Milano to return after three years at the startup Celonis. Millham spent some of his vacation time in Madrid persuading Milano to return.
At Dreamforce, Millham said, “It took a couple swipes.
At least eight former Salesforce executives have joined the group in 2023 as the business approaches its 25th anniversary, including Kelman and Milano. Benioff, who lost co-CEO Bret Taylor earlier this year after only a year of joint leadership, is turning to more of the old guard to guide Salesforce overcome a difficult economic climate and an uncertain future.
Source (CNBC)
